Temple thread cutter for looms



Feb. 24, 1953 F. F. LARSON TEMPLE THREAD CUTTER FOR LOOMS Fil ed NOV. 9,1950 IN VEN TOR. FlenNc/s F LARSON Patented Feb. 24, 1953 TEMPLE THREADCUTTER 'FOR L'OOMS Francis F. Larson, Milford, Mass., .assignor toDraper Corporation, Hopedale, Mass., a corporation of Maine ApplicationNovember 9, 1950, Serial No. 194,912

6 Claims. -1

This invention pertains to improvements temple thread cutters for looms.

It is a general Object of the invention to improve the operation oftemple thread cutters and to render them more effective in their actionand longer lived in that the smoothness of operation, quietness withwhich the mechanism functions and the life of the parts are greatlyimproved.

It is a more specific object of the invention to modify a temple threadcutter of the type hereinafter described to eliminate wear of certain ofthe parts which has heretofore necessitated replacement thereof or"resort to other rather difficult or relatively expensive practices inorder to alleviate the effects of such wear.

It is a further more specific object of the invention to render thefunctioning of such thread cutters more quiet and to provide forsmoother operation of the cutter thereby increasing its generalefficiency.

Temple thread cutters are employed on most all looms and are of 'ageneral type as illustrated in U. S. Patent 2,163,308, said cuttersbeing caused to function once at each beat-up movement of the lay,although there is no actual thread to be out except at relativelyinfrequent intervals as determined by the length of time for which oneindividual filling package serves before it becomes exhausted andtransfer to .another package takes place. These cutters are mounted onone of the temples, more specifically, that temple adjacent the side atwhich replenishment of the filling occurs and are more or less a part ofthe temple. The cutters which are rather simple in construction comprisea fixed blade attached to part of the temple structure and a movableblade which is guided within a portion of the temple structure, thisblade being urged to a non-cutting or inactive position by a spring andbeing adapted to be rocked so that its tip cutting portion engages athread if one happens to be within the range of the cutter, andthereafter moves downwardly and forwardly to cut that thread as close tothe sel-vage of the fabric as is practicable.

Since the movable cutter blade is caused to go through its cuttingmovement once at each beat-up movement of the lay, or once for each pickeven though there is no thread to he out, there is the possibility ofconsiderable wear of the parts since no lubrication is possible, or atleast, lubrication is not feasible in most instances due to the fact thecutter functions in proximity to the edge of the fabric. Wear may betaken up to some extent by an adjustment provided in these "mechanismsso that the cutting function itself may continue as planned, but thereis a very definite rocking and sliding movement of the parts which tendsto abrade certain of the wearing surfaces and then as thex blade returnsto its inactive position under the influence of the fairly strongcontrol-ling spring, the shock or impact of the abutting or stoppingsurfaces causes further abrasion so that the parts become unduly wornafter a period of operation. It has been the practice to replace themovable cutter member at intervals, and in some instances, differentschemes "have been devised for taking account of the wear atthe-cooperating surfaces on the relatively fixed part of the mechanismwhich really forms a part of the temple structure and is -too expensiveto be replaced. One solution of this problem has been that of hardeningthe parts, but that is relatively difficult since the entire structureshould not :be hardened and local hardening involves additionaloperations and expense which are better dispensed with. The parts arealso of cast iron and hardening locally involves difficulties and givesrise to some .eifects which are not to be tolerated in accordance withbetter practice.

In accordance with the invention the action of the cutter is greatlyimproved and the wear of the parts virtually eliminated by theintroduction of a wearing pad of non-metallic material, this pad beingof a particular shape and readily attached or detached from the cuttermember which is, of course, easily removed from the remainder of themechanism so that the replacement of one of these impact and wearabsorbing pads involves very little time and relatively negligibleexpense. The cutter itself functions more smoothly, the noise incidentalto its operation is to a great extent eliminated and the cuttingfunction and adjustment of the movable blade continues as originally.set for a much longer period of time, not being afiected .by thecontinuous pounding :or impact of the parts incidental to operationthereof.

The invention :is hereinafter described :in greater detail by referenceto one particular :em bodiment thereof and a modification as illustratedin the accompanying figures of drawing wherein:

1 is aplan view of a temple to which the invention may be applied.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view thereof as seen from the cutting end ofthe mechanism.

Fig. .3 is a side elevation showing the cutter in its two opposedpositions.

Fig. 41s a perspective view showing the invention as applied to onecutter blade and Fig. 5 is a similar perspective view showing theinvention according to a certain modification thereof adapted tofunction with a different type of cutter blade.

Now referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the temple thread cutter itself ismounted as a functionally integral part of a temple which comprises acasing member having a top portion I0, a lower casing part II which ispreferably cast integrally with a bar I2 by means of which the entiretemple is supported to slide in a conventional uide member all asillustrated in the U. S. Patent 2,163,308, above mentioned. The threadcutter itself includes what will herein be termed a cutter support I3and which is, in effect, merely a continuation of the casing and barheretofore mentioned being attached thereto by a screw I4 passingdownwardly through the said support and being threaded into an extendingend of the bar and lower casing member II, the alignment of these partsbeing maintained by a tongue and groove or in any other satisfactorymanner as is well understood by those conversant with this art. Thecutting members themselves include a fixed or ledger blade I5permanently attached to the side of bar I2 at its forward or foremostend and a movable cutter blade generally indicated by numeral I6 andhaving a downwardly hooked cutter tip I1, and at the opposite end of thefinger portion I8 of the movable blade, a widened part hereinaftertermed an abutment I9 and a downwardly extending actuating heel 20. Asmore clearly illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 which are in perspective,these parts are adapted to slide and to rock throughout a limitedangular extent, a spring 2I of particular form being coiled about a pin22 on the support and at its opposite end being attached to a second pin23 on the heel 2B for effecting a return movement and for maintainingthe cutter in the full line position, Fig. 3.

As may be seen in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the abutment I9 of the movable bladeis stepped or angularly formed so as to provide a surface for abuttingagainst a similarly stepped portion 24 of the bar and lower casingmember this part of the bar termed the stopping surface and as may benoted, being less obtusely formed than is the stepped part of theabutment I9. Normally there is a metal-to-metal contact at thesesurfaces in all cutters heretofore employed and the action of the partsis such that upon contact of an abutment or some intended part of thelay with the heel 20, the cutter is first rocked so that the cuttingportion I! of the blade moves downwardly engaging a thread if one is inrange, and thereafter further movement of the part causes the entiremovable blade to be .displaced forwardly of the loom or to thedot-and-dash line position of Fig. 3. It is obvious that the movement ofthe parts in rocking and insliding from one position to the otherinvolves a wearing of the complementary engaging surfaces and also, uponretraction of the lay, the opposite movement as induced. by spring 2Inot only gives rise to corresponding tendency to wear but also resultsin a very definite impact between the abutting and stopping surfaceswhich is in the nature of a pounding action. This cycle is repeated inthe neighborhood of two hundred or more times a minute in many looms andtherefore, relatively rapid wearing of the parts takes place since, asbefore stated, no lubrication may normally be applied.

In accordance with the invention a combined wearing and shock or impactabsorbing pad generally designated by numeral 25 is attached to thestepped surfaces of the abutment I9 of movable cutter blade I6 and thispad is formed in a particular manner so as to be held very rigidly inposition, yet may be easily attached or detached incidental toreplacement when and if that becomes necessary. The pad itself isnotched or cut away so as to span the finger portion It of the movablecutter member and, while it is relatively narrow at the stepped abuttingsurfaces which rock and have impact against the stopping surfaces 24, itis rather wide at the horizontal attaching portion 26 and at theobliquely disposed attaching portion 21 at the lower part of theabutment. S'crews or other attaching means, preferably of some threadednature such as screws 28 and 29, serve to retain the pad in positionand, of course, replacement merely involves disconnecting the spring 2Ifrom the pin 23, pulling the movable cutter member outwardly of thesupport and removing the screws 28 and 29 whereupon a new pad may beattached and the parts reassembled in a matter of a very short period oftime. This makes it very easy to maintain these cutter mechanisms inrelatively good condition and obviates the difiiculties heretoforeexperienced and the relatively large amount of expense involved inreplacing the parts, especially the bar or those parts of the guidingstructure which are relatively expensive and in which other parts areoperatively retained such, for example, as the pin 22 for the spring,the fixed or ledger blade I5 and an adjusting screw 30 and its lock nutSI by means of which the cutting adjustment itself is originally set andby means of which it may be maintained, although with the presentimprovement, the need for adjustment thereof is limited to relativelyinfrequent periods.

The material from which the pad 25 is made is within limits critical andfalls into the general classification of resinous compounds. While it isconceivable that various natural materials such as rubber or rubbercompounds and leather and the like may be used, it has been found thatthey do not serve well enough to be practically adapted to use in thisconnection. The resinous compounds which have been found to have thedesirable properties include various molded plastics such as nylon, andmolded, fabric filled plastics wherein the fabric filling need not be ofa nature to constitute a laminate, although the fabric is bondedtogether by the molded resinous or other plastic binder. Morepreferably, the best materials comprise the various resin bondedlaminates one example of such being known as Panelyte. These materialsare characterized by resilience, resistance to wear and are smoothsurfaced to present a low coefiicient of friction,

Now referring to Fig. 5, a modification of the invention involves aslotted pad 32 being apertured along its central portion so as to spanor extend to either side of the finger portion I8f of this modified typeof cutter blade I6 in which the abutment I9 extends laterally to eitherside of the finger. Otherwise the general construction is the same andthe function is similar except that the amount of surface available forthe rocking, sliding and impact absorption of the parts is virtuallydouble that provided in the form of the invention at Fig. 4. Here thepad 32 is maintained in position by screws 33 and 34 as in the firstform of the invention, the main difference being one incidental to theparticuseaside the surfaces to -which the pad is attached are horizontalin one instance but more or less vertically disposed in the other. I p

The materials from which the pads 25 or 32 may be formed have beendiscussed and in some instances these materials are to be molded toshape, while in others they are to be formed by heating the materialwhich is preferably of a thermoplastic type in that instance. Some ofthe resin bonded laminates are commercially available in strip form andmay be cut or punched out after which they are heated and brought to theproper form, that in certain instances being done incidental to theproductive of the material itself or perhaps later where the materialhas originally been formed in strips pro duced for general usage. I v

In actual operation the functioning of the cutter blade when the padherein described is em ployed is first characterized by rocking movementof the pad surface about the point "of the stepped stopping surface 24of the relatively fixed partof the mechanism whereafter thecontinuedmovement to the dot-and-dash line position, Fig. 3, involves asliding of the more or less horizontal portion of the stepped pad alongthe correspond-'- ing complementary surface of the relatively fixed partof the temple or cutter supporting mechanism forming a part thereof. Thereturn movement of the parts involves both sliding and rocking and alsoan impact between the more or less vertically disposed portions of thestepped pad and the surface 24 since the spring 2| effects this returnmovement as the lay moves rearwardly after effecting beat-up of the lastpick. In all of these instances the presence of the pad formed of thematerial as described permits a much easier movement of the parts sincethis material has a much better tendency to slide over the cooperatingmetal surfaces involved than have the two cast iron surfaces heretoforeemployed. The impact of the parts does not give rise to the pounding ofthe metal thereby abrading the surfaces and the noise heretoforenormally accompanying the actuation of the cutter is virtuallyeliminated.

In the event the pads become worn to an extent or in any other mannerunfit for further service, their replacement is a very simple matter andmay be effected at a cost which is comparatively negligible.

In the claims following, the terminology with respect to the materialfrom which the wear resistant pads are formed, notably a resinouscompound is intended to cover all types of resinous bonded laminates,molded plastics, either fabric filled or without a filler as abovedescribed and the invention and claims are not to be limited in thatrespect except as is necessary by the prior art or by expresslimitations therein.

While one embodiment and a modification of the invention have beendisclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive concept may becarried out in a number of ways. The invention is, therefore, not to belimited to the precise details described, but is intended to embrace allvariations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1.In a temple thread cutter for looms, the combination with a templeincluding a casing part of which forms a cutter support, a fixed bladeand a movable blade which comprises a horizontally disposed finger, acutter tip at one end thereof and an abutment from which aep'hds an acneat'ingheel, said support defining a 'guideway for said movable blade anda complementary stepping surface for said abutment to limit movement ofthe movable cutter blade in one directionan'd to form a pivot aboutwhich it rotates to cause the tip of. the blade to catch a thread to becut and resilient "means biasing the cutter toward o en posit ofafrhe'an's to prevent wear on the metallic parts and to dampen theeffect of the shock incidental "to contact and "rocking action betweenthe said abutment and complementary stopping surface which comprises anintermediate impact and'w'ear resistant pad "of deformable, resilient,resinous compound I so shaped asfto span the cutter 'finger and tocov'er substantially the entire surfaceiof one of the interengaging"surfaces between the movable blade and support therefor, and means fordetachably retaining said pad in position.

'2. In a temple thread "cutter for 1ooms, t-he com bination with atemple including a casing part of which forms a cutter support, a fixedblade and 'a movable blade which comprises a horizontally disposedfinger, acutter tip at one end thereof and an abutment from whichdepends an actuating 'heel, said support defining a guideway for saidmovable blade and a complementary stopping surface for said abutment tolimit movement of "the movable cutter blade in one direction and to forma pivot about which it rotates to cause the tip of the blade to catch athread to be cut and resilient means biasing the cutter towardopen'position, of ameans to prevent "wear on the metallic parts and todampen the effect of the shock "incidental to contact and rocking actionbetween the said abutment and compleinentary stopping surface whichcomprises an intermediate impact and wear resistant pad of a laminated,resinous, plastic material so shaped as to span the cutter finger and tocover substantially the entire surface of one of the interengagingsurfaces between the movable blade and support therefor, and means fordetachably retaining said pad in position.

3. In a temple thread cutter for looms, the combination with a templeincluding a casing part of which forms a cutter support, a fixed bladeand a movable blade which comprises a horizontally disposed finger, acutter tip at one end thereof and an abutment from which depends anactuating heel, said support defining a guideway for said movable bladeand a complementary stopping surface for said abutment to limit movementof the movable cutter blade in one direction and to form a pivot aboutwhich it rotates to cause the tip of the blade to catch a thread to becut and resilient means biasing the cutter toward open position, of ameans to prevent wear on the metallic parts and to dampen the effect ofthe shock incidental to contact and rocking action between the saidabutment and complementary stopping surface which comprises anintermediate impact and wear resistant pad of a molded, fabric filled,resin bonded plastic material so shaped as to span the cutter finger andto cover substantially the entire surface of one of the interengagingsurfaces between the movable blade and support therefor, and means fordetachably retaining said pad in position.

4. In a temple thread cutter for looms, the combination with a templeincluding a casing part of which forms a cutter support, a fixed bladeand a movable blade which comprises a horizontally disposed finger, acutter tip at one end thereof and an abutment from which depends anactuating heel, said support defining a guideway for said movable bladeand a complementary stopping surface for said abutment to limit movementof the movable cutter blade in one direction and to form a pivot aboutwhich it rotates to cause the tip of the blade to catch a thread to becut and resilient means biasing the cutter toward open position, of ameans to prevent wear on the metallic parts and to dampen the effect ofthe shock incidental to contact and rocking action between the saidabutment and complementary stopping surface which comprises anintermediate impact and wear resistant pad of a laminated, resinousplastic material so shaped as to span the cutter finger and to coversubstantially the entire surface of said abutment, and means fordetachably retaining said pad thereon.

5. In a temple thread cutter for looms, the combination wtih a templeincluding a casing part of which forms a cutter support, a fixed bladeand a movable blade which comprises a horizontally disposed finger, acutter tip at one end thereof and an abutment from which depends anactuating heel, said support defining a guideway for said movable bladeand a complementary stopping surface for said abutment to limit movementof the movable cutter blade in one direction and to form a pivot aboutwhich it rotates to cause the tip of the blade to catch a thread to becut and resilient means biasing the cutter toward open position, of ameans to prevent wear on the metallic parts and to dampen the effect ofthe shock incidental to contact and rocking action between the saidabutment and complementary stopping surface which comprises anintermediate impact and wear resistant pad of a laminated, resinous,plastic material so shaped as to extend above and below said finger andto cover substantially the entire surface of 8 said abutment, openingsadjacent the ends of the pad and threaded means by which it is attachedto the movable cutter blade.

6. In a temple thread cutter for looms, the combination with a templeincluding a casing part of which forms a cutter support, a fixed bladeand a movable blade which comprises a horizontally disposed finger, acutter tip at one end thereof and an abutment from which depends anactuating heel, said support defining a guideway for said movable bladeand a complementary stopping surface for said abutment to limit movementof the movable cutter blade in one direction and to form a pivot aboutwhich it rotates to cause the tip of the blade to catch a thread to becut and resilient means biasing the cutter toward open position, of ameans to prevent wear on the metallic parts and to dampen the effect ofthe shock incidental to contact and rocking action between the saidabutment and complementary stopping surface which comprises anintermediate impact and wear resistant pad of a laminated, resinous,plastic material slotted to encompass the cutter finger and extendinghorizontally above and obliquely below said cutter finger, openingsadjacent the ends of the pad and threaded means by which it is attachedto the movable cutter blade.

FRANCIS F. LARSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 990,505 Stimpson Apr. 25, 19111,049,458 Cunnieff Jan. '7, 1913 1,233,128 Roy July 10, 1917 2,061,846Noyes Nov. 24, 1936 2,226,279 Bahan Dec. 24, 1940

